wfn.org | All Africa News Agency Nov 17 2003 Features

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ALL AFRICA NEWS AGENCY
P. O Box, 66878, 00800 Westlands, NAIROBI, Kenya.
Tel: 254-2-4442215 or 4440224; Fax: 254-2-4445847, or 4443241;
Email: aanaapta@nbnet.co.ke

AANA Bulletin			 Bulletin APTA
Editor -Elly Wamari		Editor - Silvie Alemba

AANA BULLETIN No. 45/03 November 17, 2003 Features

SPECIAL REPORT

Africa To Acquire Biological Anti-Malaria Technology

NAIROBI (AANA) November 17 - Africa's first Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) 
factory is a major breakthrough in the fight against malaria.  It will be 
ready to start producing a powder form of a mosquito pesticide by the end 
of the year.

Eventually, it will be used for the control of horticultural insects, 
according to Dr Ellie Osir of the International Centre for  Insect 
Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), who have imported the technology here.

Bt is a natural biological pest that destroys many pests that cause havoc 
in agriculture. This bacterium is an active ingredient in many natural 
pesticides on sale for many years in Europe, Asia and America.

The naturally occurring soil bacterium produces poisons that cause disease 
in insects. It is considered ideal for pest management because it is 
specific in its action, and lacks toxicity to humans, wildlife or other 
useful insects such as honey bees.

In effect, some Bt insecticide formulations are considered safe on all food 
crops.	One variety called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis or Bti, 
discovered twenty years ago, is effective in destroying mosquito larvae, 
and therefore can reduce malaria prevalence.

It is on this premise that the Nairobi-based ICIPE, has brought to Kenya 
from Wuhan, China, equipment that will produce the insecticide.

In 2002, with a view to help Kenya reduce its cost of producing these 
pesticides, the  Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology agreed to 
donate equipment worth US$ 1 million towards the production of the 
biological insecticide.

In advanced countries of Europe and America, Bt natural pesticides have 
been used for the last three decades.  The variety for the control of 
malaria, Bti, was discovered later, and is increasingly being used in the 
control of mosquito .

So far, Bti pesticide, a powder sprayed in mosquito breeding grounds, has 
not been used in Africa, the reason being the high cost involved in 
acquiring it from abroad. By bringing processing equipment to Africa, the 
pesticide will be available at lower costs.

Dr Osir, ICIPE's Head of Molecular Biology, says the organisation has spent 
the last five years focusing on a search for alternative mosquito control 
strategies, hence the Bt technology.

Eventually, he says, Kenya will be in a position to export production of 
this natural pesticide throughout Africa, particularly in countries within 
the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), once the pilot 
project is over.

Kenya will also produce other similar products of immense use in 
agriculture, using the same technology.

The country exports fresh produce of an estimated annual value of US $ 200 
million to the European Union (EU), but the industry is threatened by pests 
like diamondback moth and African fruit-worm.

Says Osir: "Due to the tough pesticide residue regulations introduced by 
EU, African producers are facing a serious problem in finding effective 
alternatives to chemical pesticides. Bt will turn out to be an important 
alternative for agriculture."

One disadvantage of Bt pesticide is its susceptibility to degradation by 
sunlight. Most of its formulations last only a week or less when applied on 
foliage.  Some of the newer strains developed for beetle control may last 
no more than two days.

Because the insecticide is a stomach poison formulation, it means that it 
has to be consumed to be effective. Accordingly, many pesticides may escape 
its effects, particularly those that tunnel into plants and keep away from 
surfaces.

Unlike typical nerve poison insecticides, Bt acts by producing 
delta-endotoxin poison that react with the cells of the abdomen of 
susceptible insects. The poisons then paralyse the abdomen, forcing the 
insect to stop eating, and eventually die from starvation. This can take 
several days.

To control mosquito larvae by Bti, the pesticide is placed in stagnant 
water in mosquito breeding sites. The Chinese equipment makes granules or 
slow releasing rings or briquettes to ensure the pesticide lasts longer.

ICIPE argues that current malaria control strategies are plagued by many 
problems.  Malaria parasites have become resistant to many anti-malarial 
drugs, while mosquitoes have extended their bite time beyond the normal 
sleep time.

Some malaria vaccines are being developed, but they will take many years 
before they reach the market.

Reported by Sam Gonza

FEATURES  SECTION

Now Famine-Stricken Zimbabwe Faces Farming Crisis

The depletion of the cattle herds in parts of Zimbabwe, coupled with severe 
shortage of farm inputs, have become a major cause for concern to 
agricultural experts in the country, who now fear that the development may 
worsen the already bad food situation, despite a promising rainy season. 
Ntungamili Nkomo, reports.

O
n the shores of a crusty, dried up dam in drought-stricken southern 
Zimbabwe, Bongani Mgomeni, a beneficiary of the controversial 
government-sponsored land reform programme, watches desolately as noisy 
vultures swoop onto a decomposing carcass of his cow, the last from a once 
flourishing herd that numbered 60 at its prime.  The cow is one of the 
latest victims of a drought-stricken Matabeleland South.

The depletion of the cattle herds in the country's most impoverished 
province, coupled with a shortage of farming inputs, have become a major 
cause for concern to thousands of vulnerable farmers yearning to harvest 
enough food in 2004, to fend off starvation that has stalked the country 
for the past two years.

Since the beginning of this year's crop farming season, there has been no 
agricultural activity in most parts of the country due to a crippling 
shortage of farm inputs.

Recent statistics from the Veterinary Services Department indicate that 
over 100,000 cattle have died due to the drought in Matabeleland South 
alone, raising fears that farmers could be unable to till their land this 
season because of a shortage of draught-power.

In a recent interview, the Director of Veterinary Services, Stuart 
Hargreaves, lamented the depletion of cattle, which had reached alarming 
levels.

"Recent statistics on the casualties in Matabeleland alone is shocking," 
said Hargreaves, adding: "The latest information I have is that herds of 
cattle have died because of the drought."

The government recently allocated a Z$ 5 billion (about US$ 6.1 million) 
facility to help resuscitate the livestock industry in Matabeleland, but 
farmers complain that the funds are inadequate.

Agricultural experts have warned that the cyclic shortage of farming inputs 
will continue, and will adversely affect the next harvest.  Recurrent 
droughts and the government-sponsored land reforms have been blamed for a 
70 percent slash in commercial agricultural production in the country.

Since it embarked on its controversial land redistribution exercise in 
February 2000, ostensibly to correct the colonial land imbalances, the 
government has failed to secure inputs such as seed-maize, fertilisers and 
farm implements like ploughs, to boost production.

Joseph Made, the Minister for Agriculture, Lands and Rural Resettlement, 
conceded two weeks ago that the government had no capacity to purchase 
sufficient inputs. He said, however, that his ministry was making frantic 
efforts to procure the required farming necessities to ensure that the land 
reform programme was a success.

The government has only managed to secure an insignificant fraction of the 
required 100,000 tonnes of seed-maize. A staggering Z$ 536.7 billion 
(approximately US$ 652 million) is needed to secure enough seed-maize to 
sustain the country.

In the rare case that one stumbles across a bag of seed-maize, the inflated 
price becomes a hindrance. A 10 kg bag of seed-maize costs Z$ 85,000 (about 
US$ 103), while an ox-drawn plough goes for half a million Zimbabwean 
dollars (US$ 607).

Two weeks ago, agricultural pundits stressed that President Robert Mugabe's 
land reform programme could only be a success story if the government 
supplied enough farming inputs.

Edward Mkhosi, an expert in the parliamentary portfolio on Lands, 
Agriculture, Water Development, Rural Resources and Resettlement, pointed 
out that even though enough rains had been predicted, the shortage of 
inputs was likely to hamper food production.

"I am afraid farming is going to suffer another devastative blow, 
especially in Matabeleland region, where farmers do not have any capacity 
to till their land due to the shortage of inputs such as seed-maize," said 
Mkhosi.

Maize is the country's staple food. When the commercial farming sector was 
robust, farmers used to produce enough maize for consumption, and would 
even export some to needy countries.

Said Mkhosi: "This year's drought, which can only be described as 
unprecedented, has literally depleted the draught-power in the province, 
leaving people, most of whom rely on draught-power for farming, stranded."

The situation, he observed, was exacerbated by the shortage of tractors, an 
option that farmers could exploit, but at a cost.

Prospects for communal agricultural revival hang in the balance, as the 
District Development Fund (DDF), a parastatal responsible for carrying out 
a subsidised credit-based tillage programme for farmers, has not been 
spared either by fuel and spare parts shortages.

James Jonga, the DDF Director General, recently announced that only 450 out 
of over 1,200 tractors were functioning due to the shortage of fuel.

The parliamentary portfolio committee on lands, agriculture and rural 
resources has expressed concern at the lack of progress in the tillage 
programme, following reports that only 12,000 out of a targeted 100,000 
hectares have been ploughed to date.

"DDF does not have enough tractors to cater for all the farmers in the 
region, and this is going to compromise the next harvest," noted 
Mkhosi.  The agricultural expert went ahead and warned that the country 
could face the worst food crisis next year if the government failed to 
procure farming inputs.

Major fertiliser manufacturers, Zimbabwe Phosphate Industries (Zimphos), 
Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company, and Windmill (Pvt) Limited, have indicated 
that they are unable to produce enough fertiliser because of foreign 
currency shortages.

In a joint report submitted to parliament last month, the producers said 
they had been operating at low capacity in the last eight months, managing 
to supply only 240,000 tonnes of fertiliser, out of a normal capacity of 
370,000 tonnes.

Matabeleland soils are infertile and  a lot of fertiliser is needed for 
farming.  Newly-resettled farmers, who spoke to AANA, said they were 
disappointed with the government over its failure to provide them with
inputs.

"The area in which we were resettled is very dry (and) infertile. We 
expected the government to supply us with all required farming implements 
and inputs," said Mabaleke Moyo, a newly-resettled farmer in the province.

A Country Still Full Of HIV-Related Discrimination

Even though Botswana has been commended world-wide for its outstanding 
battle to bring HIV/AIDS under control, activists feel that the battle will 
be lost if the country does not end the widespread discrimination of people 
directly affected by the pandemic, reports AANA Correspondent, Rodrick 
Mukumbira.

W
hen Tebogo Masilo (24) got a bursary to study archaeology in the United 
States, he was overjoyed.  Neither did he know that his aspirations would 
come crumbling down when the government, as part of the funding 
requirements, told him to undergo HIV testing.

"The results confirmed that I was positive, and the government said it 
could not give me a bursary, and could not invest in me," a dejected Masilo 
recalls. He also recalls being turned down by prospective employers each 
time they discovered he was infected with  HIV.

Such is the plight of students in a country battling against a high level 
of HIV/AIDS, especially among young people.

Botswana's schools churn out just over 20,000 students every year. A 
quarter of these are absorbed by the country's only university and a few 
other tertiary institutes.  The bulk seek government bursaries to study 
outside the country.

The southern Africa country has the highest prevalence of HIV in 
sub-Saharan Africa.  According to Joint United Nations Programme of AIDS 
(UNAIDS), 38 percent of people aged between 16 and 49 are infected with HIV.

Even though the country has been commended world-wide for its outstanding 
battle to bring the pandemic under control, AIDS activists feel that the 
battle will be lost if the country does not end the widespread 
discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS.

Despite enacting the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair 
Discrimination Act in 2000, which prohibits the discrimination against the 
mentally ill, people living with disabilities, and those enduring terminal 
illnesses, the government has been accused of fanning such practices.

Recently, government authorities announced that from January next year, 
public medical centres will be providing routine testing for patients 
exhibiting signs of HIV infection.

"By rejecting people who test HIV positive, we are saying that they are 
outcasts and not fit to be incorporated into the society," says Nefta 
Mwindidi, a medical doctor running a private clinic in Maun, a resort town 
in north-western Botswana.  Mwindidi is also an independent HIV/AIDS 
researcher.

He has carried out a research on the implication of the government policy 
on local tertiary institutions.  "Our tertiary institutions cannot absorb 
all those needing further education," he says, adding: "We need a 
comprehensive policy to help curb the disease rather than draw the line 
between those who have the virus and those who do not."

Mwindidi says that even at the University of Botswana, the country's only 
university, the presence of a student or staff member suspected of being 
infected with HIV creates fear and anxiety among most staff and 
students.  More often, the affected person gets isolated.

Professor Sheila Tlou, the university's HIV/AIDS counsellor for students, 
attributes this to ignorance and stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. She blames 
the government for not doing much to fight discrimination, hence the 
prevalence of stigma.

According to Tlou, there is a general belief that people can get 
tuberculosis or flu from people carrying HIV.  "There is an urgent need for 
comprehensive guidelines to counter all forms of discrimination and 
stigmatisation. The government needs to develop a clear policy concerning 
students living with HIV/AIDS," she says.

Discrimination has not only been limited to students, but has also been 
meted on those seeking to join the diamond mining giant, Debswana, the 
country's biggest employer.  Debswana is a 50-50 partnership between South 
Africa's De Beers mining conglomerate and the Government of Botswana.

The company requires that its prospective employees undergo HIV testing 
before any formal contract is signed. Once one tests positive to HIV, the 
chances of getting employed wane fast.

Charles Tlagae, a Maun based lawyer, also says discrimination prevails in 
the informal job market, such as domestic employment. In a country without 
any legislation to protect domestic workers, incidences of being dismissed 
after exhibiting symptoms of AIDS are passing by unchecked, he points out.

Commercial Banks have also been identified as promoting discrimination 
against people living with HIV/AIDS. They require one to hold a life 
insurance policy that covers the value of much sought-after  housing loans. 
But life insurance companies require HIV tests as a prerequisite for 
coverage, and legally reject those who test positive.

The insurance industry still clings to pre-testing of HIV, despite the 
government's anti-discrimination law. Like their counterparts in South 
Africa, Botswana's insurance companies have sought protection from the 
government, against laws that may expose them as being biased against 
people infected with HIV, arguing that their business will otherwise be 
crippled.

"People living with the disease, cannot get a home loan to break free from 
the discrimination they suffer in their family's house," says Mogapi Dineo, 
a counsellor at the Kopano Women's Shelter project. The shelter caters for 
abused women, some of them living with HIV/AIDS.

At a Maun shelter run by Coping Centre for People With AIDS (COCEPWA), a 
retreat and counselling junction for people diagnosed with the disease, it 
is clear that the sufferers ran away from society because of stigma 
attached to the disease.  "People thought I got the virus out of being 
promiscuous. My family isolated me after I went public about my status, so 
I decided to come to COCEPWA," 22-year-old Tsholofela Moremi says.

She, however, does not want to wait for the government to come up with AIDS 
programmes, believing that the only way to fight AIDS is by building a 
movement of people living openly with the virus.

At a workshop on employment in August, Jennifer Joni, a lawyer with the 
AIDS Law Project on Employment, HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, spoke of cases 
of immigrant employment seekers being tested for HIV, and those testing 
positive being denied employment.

She also identified a firm in the country that had reduced the number of 
sick leave days accrued by employees, and adopted a policy requiring anyone 
with a negative sick leave balance to accept medical 
retirement.  "Companies can counter this by investing in HIV prevention 
programmes designed to reduce the incidence of the disease in their 
workforce..." said Joni.

Scientists Plan Re-Ignites Debate On Lab Babies

Kenyan Scientists working on a research to enable the country to acquire 
the technology of making babies in the laboratory locally, must have been 
shocked by the opposition they received from the religious 
fraternity.  Soon after the information concerning their project reached 
the press, several religious leaders quickly mounted an opposition to the 
venture, arguing that it was tantamount to playing God.  AANA 
Correspondent, Joseph K'Amolo, reports on the latest debate between 
scientists and the clergy in the country.

T
est tube babies are in the forefront of debates again, though the phenomena 
is nothing new. The technology, which involves In Vitro Fertilisation and 
Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET), has been with the Western world for some time 
now. The first baby through the process was born 25 years ago in London.

A quarter century ago, the technology was frowned at by the faith 
community. The Vatican was reported to have complained that by doing so, 
scientists were playing God, as the method divorced the conjugal sexual act 
from procreation.

Ironically, with time, more and more Catholic faithful with childbearing 
difficulties in the West started seeking help out of this method.

Recently, three Kenyan scientists, Dr Okello Agina, Dr Leah Kirumba, and Dr 
A. Kibwana, embarked on an ambitious project to develop the technology 
locally. The idea was to help those who may have difficulty in conceiving a 
baby, achieve this throught the test tube method at a reduced cost.

It is said that seeking the technology abroad costs about US$ 13,000, 
compared to what it may cost here, which is estimated at US$ 5,300 (about 
Ksh 400,000).

But little did the scientists know that what they thought was a call to 
duty would elicit the wrath of the religious fraternity in the country, 
just like it did elsewhere 25 years ago.

First to fire the verbal ammunition against the technology was the Anglican 
Bishop for Mt Kenya West Diocese, Rev Alfred Chipman, who in rebuking the 
move, said the scientists were playing God.

He claimed that the process would have repercussions in future, saying that 
it posed a great ethical, moral and social dangers "to our dynamic society".

According to the bishop, the technology would encourage any woman seeking 
to have a baby to walk to the laboratory and have implanted in her womb, an 
already fertilised egg, and this, to him, defeats the original purpose of 
family formation as planned by God.

In the same camp with Rev Chipman are the Anglican Bishop of Maseno North 
Diocese in western Kenya, Rev Simeon Oketch, Father Daniel Mugwe, the 
parish priest at the Karatina Catholic Church in Central Province, and the 
head of Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), Rev Dr David Githii, 
based in Nairobi.

In Bishop Oketch's view, the act is tantamount to "manufacturing babies in 
an industrial process", which, he maintains, is against God's plan for 
mankind.

For Father Mugwe, the conception of babies in the laboratory is against the 
principle of parenthood from the biblical point of view, which the Church 
holds dearly in as far as family formation is concerned.

He alleges that a child is a sacrament from the union of parents joined 
through the holy matrimony.

A Muslim faithful at the Chief Kadhi's office in Nairobi, who spoke to AANA 
on condition of anonymity, expressed similar sentiments, pointing out that 
the Koran is against human manipulation of the process of procreation.

He asserted that families are made through procreation as commanded by 
Allah, and not through scientific methods.  "It is Allah who decides what 
to give to an individual, and so, to some people, Allah gives many 
children, yet others are never given," said the Muslim faithful.

He explained that it was Allah's exclusive prerogative to make things the 
way they appear. "We cannot use science to nullify that," he stressed.

However, the three scientists working on the project maintain that while 
the procedure may be inappropriate for people who have religious or moral 
reasons against it, it should not be denied to those who are willing.

Renowned socio-political commentator, Prof Mustafa Hassouna, a Muslim by 
faith, recognises the existence of long-standing opposing views between 
scientists and clergymen on a number of issues.

"There is always an interplay between science and the scripture, and 
therefore, the question of test tube babies should be treated in the same 
way other sciences [have been] treated to benefit mankind," he says.

He acknowledges that it takes time for the faith believers to realise the 
goodness of something, just as it has proved that family planning, which 
some religious bodies still oppose, is an essential component in the 
development agenda.

He calls upon the faith fraternity to soften their stand on some of these 
scientific matters and re-evaluate their position on the issue of test tube 
babies.

An open forum debate on the subject, held in Nairobi on October 14, served 
as an eye opener for participants, and may go ahead to soften the stand of 
critics.

According to an information officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute 
(KEMRI), the forum helped to erase fears based on lack of knowledge 
concerning the technology.

Critics who attended the forum got convinced that the technology is for 
good purpose, and not for financial gains as had been perceived by some.

Benta Oloo, a Nairobi resident, is now contented that a local availability 
of the technology might serve to rescue barren women who have suffered 
societal or marital rebuke.

Some husbands are known to have opted to marry second wives in the hope 
that they will be able to sire children with them.

When this happens, the barren wife often becomes a victim of ill-treatment 
by the husband and co-wife, and to a greater extent, by the in-laws.

"This breakthrough, therefore, may bring relief to them," observes 
Oloo.  She realises, however, that much as the method may offer an 
alternative to childlessness, the cost may still be prohibitive for many 
economically disadvantaged barren women. "How many women in this country 
can afford Ksh 400,000?" she poses.